debt ceiling. the last obstacle may be the least dangerous, judging by what happened last year with the overly dreaded debt downgrade and what's happening now. take your cue from the markets. here is the bottom line. washington fright fest is almost over, people. maybe time to break out the dr. strangelove handbook and learn how to stopped worrying and love the irrelevant gridlock that will soon face, once the debt ceiling is raised, and politics cease to be the biggest factor in our investment thinking. kevin in washington, kevin. >> caller: booyah, mr. brilliant one. a quick question. you know, with the higher cost of foods and energy, and the lower incomes we're all expecting, the average working person, do you think we can return to the dependence on our credit cards? if we are, is master card a good buy? >> i like master card, my charitable trust owns it, ebay, that stock soaring in afterhours. master card is a paper to plastic worldwide trend, not so much we get hooked in debt or not. and i'v